Sep 27 What I Learned in My First MiLB Season

When I began my relationship with Brandon, that’s also when my love affair with baseball skyrocketed. Baseball was no longer a game of pastime or a Sunday afternoon but a dream, our dream. Baseball truly is a roller coaster of a ride, but if you trust the process and hold on tight it will be one of your greatest adventures.

2017 marks Brandon’s first full season of MiLB and let me tell you, the minor league lifestyle is a grind and baseball season is very loooonnggg. These men give their everything to a sport that doesn’t always give back.

Watching Brandon put so much heart and hustle into a game set up for failures is the most magical lifestyle to be a part of. Chasing the dream of becoming a “major leaguer” is just as much mine as it is his.

One of the biggest blessings this season brought me was the other women cheering on their men in this crazy lifestyle. I loved meeting some of the other wives and girlfriends and hearing the roller coaster baseball has taken them on so far. These women deserve an MVP award and also make the baseball season a little sweeter!

I have to admit the majority of my first professional baseball season I was completely spoiled. Brandon was drafted by our home state team, the Tampa Bay Rays, in the 2016 MLB Draft. Their spring training in Port Charlotte, FL is less than 2 hours away from where we live.

Brandon was able to skip Low A and was assigned to High A, which is also in Port Charlotte, FL. To top it all off, his team was in the Florida State League, so all their away games were in a 4-hour radius.

I had the convenience of seeing him every week for a few days, while still being able to keep my job and take classes. Still, baseball season is long and I was ready for the off season to arrive so I could get him all to myself.

During the last month of the season, I got a true taste of the minor league roller coaster lifestyle when Brandon was called up to Triple A in Durham, North Carolina.

For the next three weeks, we had long car rides from state to state, hotel hopping, living out of a suitcase, eating take out every night, which became the new ‘normal’ for us. I was experiencing the grind of this lifestyle and embracing every second of it.

I definitely got homesick and longed for a home cooked meal but the excitement of traveling with Brandon FULL time, and exploring new places we would probably never have seen if it wasn’t for baseball were some of our greatest memories to date.

Babe Ruth said it best, “Baseball was, is, and always will be to me the best game in the world". So, if there is anything my first season of MiLB has taught me it is:

1. Don’t worry and stress when things don’t go as planned. Baseball is an unpredictable lifestyle. Live in the moment.

2. Baseball is an adventure. HAVE FUN!! Take advantage of the new places and the adventures given to you!

3. Lean into discomfort. New situations are thrown at us daily, get comfortable with the uncomfortable. This is when you will grow the most.

Jenna is a lifestyle blogger for “Living By The Seams” and has been a part of professional baseball since 2016 when her boyfriend was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays. She is a full time student at the University of South Florida earning a degree in Marketing (graduating Spring 2018). She has a passion for all things baseball, fashion, and their pup Nala. Connect with her on Instagram @jennamagnano or check out her blog.

Jenna is a lifestyle blogger for “Living By The Seams” and has been a part of professional baseball since 2016 when her boyfriend was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays. She is a full time student at the University of South Florida earning a degree in Marketing (graduating Spring 2018). She has a passion for all things baseball, fashion, and their pup Nala. Connect with her on Instagram @jennamagnano or check out her blog.